Wall St. Journal: Smart phones as sociobiological data loggers
This is a little out of date, but as I’ve been off for a few days, all the better for having stuck in my mind for awhile. At the Wall Street Journal on April 23 Robert Lee Hotz did what he does often and very well: Flesh out a news item by digging up a lot of recent and broad context. He transforms the kerfuffle over phone company slipups when they take too much personal data on their cell phone users, or even worse, share it with marketers, into a general story on modern sociology.
While the cell phone company news is about invasion of privacy, Hotz gathers up samples of researches that (I hope) had phone users’ permission. It says here they could tell, just from the patterns of movement and of interaction with other phone users, which people were getting the flu even before they themselves knew it. Initial patterns of movement allowed spooky ability to forecast where people would be going next, and after that, and after that. Lots more arises from such pointillist info on us individuals as we wander the people cloud. Maybe we’ll learn which is more true: Birds of a feather flock together. Or monkey see, monkey do. That is to ask: is obesity contagious? Perhaps our blackberries and droids and iphones will tell us. With or without signed release forms.
- Charlie Petit
April 30th, 2011 at 5:09 am
People without analytical skills will totally muddle the facts about the difference between academic research, with its rigid rules about disclosure and the scientific method, with general data gathering.
I think this research is largely speculative! Google wants to target local ads. Apple gathers its data to create a cell tower map. The purposes are quite different.
May 3rd, 2011 at 6:44 am
Jessica, scientific method is reliable but slow. I see your point but commercial entities like Google and Apple don’t care much for academic side of things for as long as research provides grounds for product advancement and secures profits.
June 29th, 2011 at 5:58 am
I will have to agree with Dan here. Google doesnt care much about academic reason what they want is more people to show their ads to.
October 8th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
In my opinion, Apple has the supremacy in the series smartphones and tablets ipad.Google iphone android is a system in development.
October 8th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Sorry rectify
In my opinion, Apple has the supremacy in the series smartphone iphone and tablets, iPad.
Google Android is a system in development.